Frost Brown Todd and Newark-based Gibbons have announced plans to merge on January 1, 2026, forming FBT Gibbons, a national firm with around 800 attorneys and combined revenues of $440 million.
The merger catapults FBT Gibbons into one of the largest mid-market law firms in the country, transforming from regional to a national player. It strengthens Frost Brown Todd’s already deep litigation bench and plants new flags across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
A Strong Match
When you look at the data, this pairing makes a lot of sense. Frost Brown Todd and Gibbons have a lot in common, which bodes well for smooth integration.
Using SurePoint Legal Insights’ Merger and Acquisition tool, we found two firms that nearly mirror each other across several key areas:
- Gender Diversity: Women make up 36% of FBT and 31% of Gibbons.
- Ethnic Diversity: FBT (11%) and Gibbons (15%) are very similar here as well.
- Law School Backgrounds: Both firms recruit heavily from law schools outside the top 20, suggesting similar hiring and recruiting philosophies.
- Experience Level: About 58% of FBT attorneys and 57% of Gibbons attorneys earned their JDs after 2010, meaning both firms have a similar generational makeup.
That’s a rare level of alignment, and it bodes well for cultural integration, which often makes or breaks law firm mergers.
Expanding the Map, Stronger Practices
From a geographic perspective, Gibbons brings Frost Brown Todd a well-established presence in the Northeast, adding offices and attorneys in several key markets:
- Newark, NJ (+107 attorneys)
- New York, NY (+28 attorneys)
- Philadelphia, PA (+7 attorneys)
On the practice side, the merger gives Frost Brown Todd a boost in its strongest areas:
- Litigation adds +67 attorneys: a 37% increase
- Corporate expands by +19 attorneys: a 23% boost
- Labor & Employment gains +15 attorneys: also up 37%.
It’s a blend of strengths. These additions bring greater balance to Frost Brown Todd’s national practice mix, combining Gibbons’ century-old litigation strength with FBT’s strong transactional and real estate work.
Career Progression
While the two firms are well-matched in culture, their approaches to career progression have taken different paths in recent years.
At Gibbons, most graduate-hire partner promotions in the past five years occurred between 2020 and 2022. Since then, those promotions have slowed, and the average time to partnership has nearly doubled—rising from about seven years to roughly fourteen.
By joining Frost Brown Todd, Gibbons attorneys will step into a larger platform with a faster, more consistent pathway to partnership. FBT’s track record of promotion from within and its structured advancement model create a clearer roadmap for associates looking to grow their careers.
The combination brings together two firms that both value developing homegrown talent, but also opens the door for the next generation of partners.
Integration and Retention: The Real Test
Of course, merging two firms, even those with strong similarities, is never simple.
SurePoint Legal Insights’ projection model estimates that about 56% of Gibbons attorneys are likely to remain with the combined firm four years after the merger. On the upside, Frost Brown Todd’s total headcount is expected to grow 26% as it expands into new markets and brings on Gibbons’ teams.
A useful point of comparison is the 2018 merger between Fox Rothschild and Smith Moore Leatherwood. That combination created a 900-attorney firm with comparable culture alignment and geographic expansion. Four years later, 62% of Smith Moore Leatherwood attorneys were still part of the combined firm—a strong retention rate for a merger of that size.
If FBT Gibbons follows a similar trajectory, the firm could be well-positioned to retain key talent.
Overall Outlook
With $440 million in projected revenue and $657K in revenue per lawyer, FBT Gibbons is expected to rank among the Am Law 100.
For Frost Brown Todd, this move isn’t just about growth; it’s about alignment. The firm is scaling nationally with a partner that shares its values, structure, and vision for the middle-market legal space.
As the firms prepare to integrate, the legal community will be watching to see how successfully Frost Brown Todd brings Gibbons’ talent into the fold and builds a cohesive, growth-focused firm.
Stay tuned.
For more firm-specific merger metrics or custom comparisons by region, practice area, or growth stage, explore SurePoint Legal Insights’ suite of legal tools.
Don’t miss our recent analysis of the McDermott and Schulte Roth merger (August 2025) for more context on major moves reshaping the Am Law landscape.